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Sunday, March 15, 2009

Belle Feinstein Newmark - A Photo Collage

The month of March being National Women's History Month, and March 8th having been International Women's Day, the topic for this edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is: A Tribute to Women. Write a tribute to a woman on your family tree, a friend, a neighbor, or a historical female figure who has done something to impact your life. Or instead of writing, consider sharing a photo biography of one woman's life. Or create a scrapbook page dedicated to a woman you'd like to honor.

Belle "Sissie" Feinstein Newmark (1914-2002)

At the top of the collage we see Belle with her older brother, Benny, her younger brother, Seymour, and her parents Herman and Annie. Benny gave both of his siblings nicknames that stuck with them for the rest of their life - Sissie and Babe. In the bottom row we see photos from her high school graduation, Sissie and her husband, Mel, and on the far left, a photo with her grandson, John (me), taken in 1995. Obviously, on the far right, is a newspaper clipping announcing her engagement. However, unbeknownst to either set of parents, she and her fiancee were unable to wait until January 10th, and were actually married on May 10th the previous year, in a small town in Illinois, where their names wouldn't appear in the local paper. There were two marriages, with two marriage certificates, 8 months apart.

Excerpts from a eulogy I read in 2002:...

I think I know the very first book I borrowed from her and Grandpa's library. I don't remember when it was, but I saw it a couple months ago, and borrowed it again to re-read. The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N.

Thursday nights might be the most difficult for me. For years Thursday night has meant dinner with Grandma, and watching Seinfeld, Friends and Will and Grace. Were these her favorite television shows because her grandkids watched them with her, or did her grandchildren watch them with her because they were her favorite television shows? Maybe a little bit of both.